


Game Over, Restart

by Raven_Silversea



Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gamer James T Kirk, gamer!au, references to Tarsus IV, timeloop elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26794831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Silversea/pseuds/Raven_Silversea
Summary: Haxras V was supposed to be uninhabited. Unfortunately, Jim Kirk's luck seems to have run out again. Hopefully he'll do better next run
Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948642
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Game Over, Restart

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3: Manhandled, Forced to their knees, Held at gunpoint
> 
> Saw an opportunity to try my hand at my half-thought out gamer!AU mechanics and yeah that's a lot of worldbuiling I still need to do. It was fun to write though

Haxras V was supposed to be uninhabited. Jim pulls at the ropes binding his hands together behind his back as his captors shove him to the ground. That’s what the Star Fleet records said as well as their scans of the planet. Black claws framed by blue and green feathers dig into his shoulders. He grins cheekily, looking up at the being he was kneeling in front of. “If you had wanted an audience with me, you could have just asked,” he says.

The being’s purple feathers puff up. They’re really quite interesting to look at, colorful scales interspersed with matching feathers. Jim imagines the people of Haxras V look similar to the dinosaurs of old. They hiss to their people; the universal translator doesn’t understand them yet. One of Jim’s captors hands over his phaser. Purple Feathers looks it over, manages to switch the setting from stun to kill, and points it at Jim’s head.

Shit. His communicator whistles, then clatters against the floor. The beings hiss at it, and Purple Feathers narrows their eyes. Their speech sounds distinctly demanding now.

**You have been captured by hostile forces! Time until translation availability: 3 minutes 14 seconds. You have a -25 to delay due to your crew’s attempts to make contact in addition to language differences and a -350 to seduce due to language differences and lack of display feathers.**

Well, that’s not helpful. Jim thinks as the obnoxious blue letters fade away, leaving the countdown until the translator learns the language hovering just inside his field of vision. _Show related notes._

**There are no notes relating to this event.**

Purple Feathers places a claw on the trigger, and Jim forces down a hysterical laugh. He should have died on Tarsus IV if this is where he would end up. A phaser to the face then would be just the same as a phaser to the face now. But then Kevin and Ana and all the others wouldn’t have lived…

Jim swallows. The timer hits 2 minutes and 29 seconds. Purple Feathers hisses again, louder and more demanding. _Make note: Haxras V information inaccurate. Watch the trees._ The parchment colored notepad blinks out of sight. Here’s to hoping the note doesn’t become event-locked for next time.

The communicator whistles again, loud and sharp. The beings jump and thump their tails. Feathers are ruffled all around. The timer hits 1 minute 48 seconds. Purple Feathers snarls. Jim closes his eyes. I’ll see you all next life, he thinks to the ship in the stars.

The phaser whines.

***

James Kirk pulls himself up from the canyon’s edge. The crash of the car against the canyon floor just barely reaches his ears. He straightens his back as he faces the robotic officer. His eyes widen as blue letters flash in front of his eyes.

**Congratulations! You have unlocked The Game! Don’t worry, no one can see these notifications but you. You now have access to a host of useful tools to assist you in completing your missions in life. Think ‘Yes’ to begin the tutorial.**

James blinks. _Uh, yes?_ he thinks instinctively. What in the world is this? And why now? The officer gets off the hoverbike and approaches.

**Fantastic! Let’s begin with your situation here. Notes for this situation are event-locked, you won’t be able to view them until the event has passed. You have a -100 to escape due to physical differences, a -15 to bluff due to being seen, and a neutral score for honesty. Choose wisely, player!**

“Citizen,” the officer says through the speakered mouth-piece, “what is your name?”

The negative chances only really show what James already knows. He’s pinned up against the canyon edge and the officer is guaranteed to be faster than him. He could try and bluff his way out, but that could lead to legal ramifications on top of whatever Frank’s going to do to him when he gets home. The negative chances really only numerically convey these issues; he supposes that could be useful when things aren’t nearly so obvious. Making his decision, he rolls his shoulders back and squints against the sunlight reflecting off the officer’s armor.

“My name is James Tiberius Kirk.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [Tumblr](https://ravensilversea.tumblr.com/) and [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/Raven_Silversea)


End file.
